Essar Group firms up on further investments

Indian conglomerate Essar Group has firmed up plans to invest over Rs.2000 crore to set up a new cement and ferroalloy unit in Madhya Pradesh as part of its mega investment programme. The group, which has already committed investments worth about Rs.8000 crore in the state in sectors like steel, power and telecom, has recently entered into a pact with the Madhya Pradesh government for the project.

The group will set up a cement plant with an annual production capacity of 5 million t. The plant will be built in two phases, with 2 million t of capacity established in the first stage. The 100 000 tpa ferroalloy plant will be built in two phases of 50 000 t each.

Essar Group’s chairman said, “The state offers significant growth opportunity in every sector of the economy, whether it is agro and food processing, or manufacturing or power generation, or tourism or services and higher education. This, coupled with excellent irrigation facilities, self-sufficiency in power, abundant natural resources, skilled manpower and above all, a favourable investment climate created by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, makes the state a must be destination for investment.”

The Essar Group has also said it aims to establish a training academy to impact technical skills to the locals, in particular in the field of engineering.